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I was at the gym the other day when I saw a missed call come through on our internet-based VoIP phone system. The caller was one of our largest clients. My team handles incoming calls, so I knew someone would follow up. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about that red, missed call notification. It got me thinking about what we're really selling to clients.
For starters, should our best clients ever reach voicemail during business hours? I'm starting to think the answer is no. I believe this simple metric—missed calls from top clients—might be one of the most revealing indicators of whether a firm is actually delivering on its service promises. After some ramp-up time, you'll want to get this missed-call number down to zero.
Why clients call
When a client picks up the phone, they have a pressing question or concern they need answered right away. Something is on their mind that they want it off their plate.
This is the fundamental reason people pay premium fees for professional services. It's not just for the technical work — anyone can eventually get the numbers right — but to transfer the mental burden of a financial issue or tax concern. They want to stop thinking about it and want to be assured it will be handled correctly and promptly.
A missed call is essentially a failed transfer. The proverbial monkey is still on your client's back. The mental tab remains open. And every minute that goes by between when they made their call and when your team responded means they're carrying the weight that you're supposed to be taking from them.
The scalability objection
I can already hear the pushback from readers: "This doesn't scale," you're probably thinking. "We can't have partners answering phones and knowledge workers need focused time to do their best work."
All true. And all irrelevant to the point.
Your senior tax preparer, who's knee-deep in a complex return, shouldn't be interrupted by phone calls. The partner who's reviewing a business client's financials needs unbroken concentration. The people doing your highest-value technical work should be protected from the constant ping of incoming requests.
But here's what I've learned: that's not actually who needs to answer the phone. In my experience, I'd say roughly 80% of client calls aren't technical questions at all and can be handled by client service associates.
What clients actually ask
Track your incoming calls for a month. Categorize them. You'll find the vast majority fall into the same few buckets:
- How much do I owe?
- Where do I send payment?
- Where do I upload this document?
- When is my return due?
- Did you receive what I sent?
These are logistics questions. Housekeeping. Traffic direction. They don't require a CPA to answer. They require someone who knows your firm's systems, has access to client information, and — most critically — is available.
This is the role of the client service associates. Their job isn't to do tax work or close books. Their job is to be available for clients. To answer phones. To resolve the routine questions immediately. And for the 20% of calls that do require technical expertise, their job is to take the message, set expectations, and make sure the right person calls back promptly.
The message behind the message
Even when a client call requires a callback, there's enormous value in having it answered by a person instead of a bot. "Thanks for calling—let me get you to Sarah who handles your account, and if she's in the middle of something, I'll make sure she calls you back before end of day," your CSA reassures them.
Now the client hangs up knowing three things: 1. Their message was received.2. A specific person is handling it.3. They have a timeline for getting it resolved. The mental burden transfers. The monkey jumps to your back.
Compare that to voicemail. Clients hang up uncertain whether anyone will even listen to their message. They might call again later. They might send an email. They're still carrying the weight.
Where this is heading
Here's the broader point: With AI handling more of the technical work — data entry, first-pass review, basic analysis, etc. — the remaining human value in professional services is shifting. It's moving away from "doing the work" and toward "reducing friction in clients' lives.
Friction means anything that makes it harder for clients to hand you their problems and walk away. Voicemail is friction. Delayed callbacks are friction. "Let me check on that and get back to you" when you don't offer a timeline is friction, too.
The firms that win over the next decade will be the ones that reduce friction and make problem transfer seamless. A client has a question, they pick up the phone, a human answers, and either the problem is solved or they hang up confident it's being handled. That's it. That's the whole product. Peace of mind.
Start with your best clients
You don't have to solve the missed-call challenge for every client tomorrow. Start with your top 10 or 20 by revenue. Flag them in your phone system. Make it a firm-wide mandate: These clients never hit voicemail during business hours.
Track your success rate. Make the "missed calls" metric something partners see weekly. Treat missed calls from priority clients the same way you'd treat a missed tax deadline — something that shouldn't happen and that demands a postmortem when it does.
Then expand the circle. Add more clients to the no-voicemail list. Build the systems and hire the people to make "no missed calls" the norm rather than the exception.
The real measure
I'm not suggesting you staff people at 2 a.m. Clients don't call at 2 a.m. — that's a straw man used to avoid the real question. During the hours your firm is open for business, when a client takes the time to call, do they reach a person?
If they don't, ask yourself: What exactly are they paying you for? And is voicemail really the experience that justifies your fees?
If you're honest, I suspect the answer is no. And that gap between what clients are paying for and what they're actually receiving from you is exactly where savvy competitors — hungrier, more responsive, more focused on service — will eventually find their opening.
A missed call from your best client isn't a minor inconvenience. It's a signal that your firm's service model might not be as client centered as you think.
What is your firm doing to get back to clients in a timely manner? I'd
